Chen Fan didn’t return to his room right away; instead, he walked along the hallway and made his way to the top deck. The Swan Princess was a multi-layered behemoth that weighed over a few thousand tons. The sun had set a few hours ago, so no one was walking about on the deck at this hour. People were either conversing in private quarters or engaging in intimate activities under the bedsheets.
Chen Fan linked his hands behind his back and looked at the distant shining jewels on the shore of Victoria Bay. The sight would be more gorgeous up close, but Chen Fan’s vision was ten times sharper than an ordinary person, therefore, he could see everything: from the neon lights to the bustling dock hands, people finishing their jobs at the dock.
Sweat glided down from their foreheads; scorched by the sun, their skin was darker than the night, a symbol of their low social status. However, in Chen Fan’s eyes, they were much more respectable and honorable men and women than Nie Shunchen.
Chen Fan was a man of the people, despite his wealth and power, he felt related to those who worked hard and lived a humble life. He had always wanted to revisit earth during the five hundred years of cultivation and to be reunited with the working-class people on earth who had labored and sweated. People such as Nie Shunchen had no place in Chen Fan’s heart. He was just an insect, and he would kill as many of these worthless parasites as he could.
“I understand you guys have questions, you may ask me now.” Chen Fan looked back and saw Qiu Yilun and the other teenagers. Confusion and questions were written all over their faces. He managed to squeeze out a smile and said: “Don’t worry, you guys are my friends, I won’t treat you like Nie Shunchen.”
Qiu Yilun and the others were shocked by what they heard.
Liu Xiaojin hazarded: “So… you are saying that you killed Nie Shunchen?”
“Yes, and no.” Chen Fan shrugged. “He was about to die pretty soon, but I have saved him from waiting.”
Chen Fan recalled that in his past life, he had met the young heir of the Hua Yi Entertainment as the new owner of the Jin Xiu Group at banquets. By then, Nie Shunchen had also inherited the Hua Yi Entertainment and became an ever more influential heavyweight in the entertainment industry.
Rumor had it that a new rising called Xu Rongfei had offended a few top dogs in the industry and Nie Shunchen was one of them. After Xu Rongfei was blacklisted by the industry, the paparazzi magazines heaped groundless slander on her. In the end, the girl chose to end her life after being unable to handle the stress. Nie Shunchen was one of the vile men who orchestrated the death of the beautiful and innocent girl. Karma was a bitch, After a while, Nie Shunchen’s luck finally ran out and many scandals such as his sexual abuse of actresses and murdering of his rivals were exposed by the media. In the end, he was thrown in jail and remained there for the rest of his life.
Since Chen Fan was quite removed from the entertainment industry in his last life, Chen Fan was not sure if Nie Shunchen really was involved in Xu Rongfei’s death. However, he still didn’t feel bad about killing Nie Shunchen. After all, Nie Shunchen had threatened to throw him and his friends off the ship.
If Chen Fan was an ordinary man instead of an immortal cultivator, he might have no other option other than bending his knees and to apologize.
“But we didn’t see you even lifting a finger.” Qian Lulu exclaimed.
“There are many things in this world that might seem inexplicable to you, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t real.” Chen Fan cracked a smile. “Yuan Hen, for example, he is a powerful spell caster and had cast an illusion on all of you. If wouldn’t be much harder for him to kill all of you using the illusion spells.”
So saying, Chen Fan gave Qi Wangsun a knowing look.
When Yuan Hen used the Illusion Dragon Bracelet to unleash the deadly illusions, Qi Wangsun was unfazed by the terror before him. It was as if he had seen such spells before. Therefore, Chen Fan was convinced that there was more than what met the eye about his best friend.
“Really?”
Qian Lulu, Liu Xiaojin and Zhou Qinya were set back on their heels
“Boss, do you mean you can cast spells?” Qiu Yilun was incredulous.
They were from well-off families of a small city, therefore, their level of attainment and achievement hadn’t broadened their views wide enough to even catch a glimpse of the spellcasters’ powers.
“Of course.”
Chen Fan shot out a finger and pointed at a table on the deck.
A dozen or so candles were placed on the wooden table. They wouldn’t be lit unless guests chose to use the patio. However, as soon as Chen Fan’s fingers pointed at them, fire burst out and lit up the entire patio. Despite the howling wind from the sea, the flames didn’t die down in the slightest.
“Ah!”
Qian Lulu and the others covered their mouths to stifle a surprised cry. They couldn’t believe the unimaginable scene.
They felt it was a frame by frame reenactment of a scene in Harry Potter where the lights in the academy suddenly went on with a wave of the wand. It was an impressive scene in the movie even though people knew that the scene was created using special visual effects, but to see the stuff of fiction in real life was a much more stunning experience.
“There are many powerful spellcasters in real life. I am just one of them.” Chen Fan pulled his fingers back and said lightly.
“Boss told us the truth. I remembered that when my family first moved into our house, we were harassed by a ghost in the house. My mother hired an exorcist and I remember that night, the house was turned into a battleground and things were knocked around by some unseen force. After the exorcist claimed that he had captured the ghost, we never encountered a single supernatural event since.” Qiu Yilun slapped his thigh and said abruptly. “However, I was too young to understand what was going on. But now that I think of it, that exorcist might have been a master spellcaster.”
Everyone nodded in agreement after hearing Qiu Yilun’s story.
Many people had encountered inexplicable supernatural phenomena such as ghosts and what have you. Although the teenagers had often heard stories of supernatural elements, they had never believed in them since none of them had encountered any supernatural force in person.
“I see, so you are one of those masters who possessed the Dharmic powers. Why do they call you Chen Beixuan instead of Chen Fan? And why did they say that you are the new rising billionaire in the city?” Qiu Yilun asked in confusion.
His question had piqued everyone’s interest and they all looked to Chen Fan expectantly.
Chen Fan’s ability to cast spells was too remote for them to care, however, that was not the case for Chen Fan’s wealth. Zheng family had been one of the top ten families in Hong Kong. They had unimaginable wealth at their disposal. Even the family fortune of Sheng family and the Chen family couldn’t compare much less that of Qiu Yilun and Zhou Qinya.
The only person in the entire Jiang Nan Province who could have challenged the Zheng family might be Zhang Donghai, the richest man in the province.
However, such a powerful player in Hong Kong was destroyed by a young man. It was unheard of.
“The Zheng family owed me money. I simply took it back.” Chen Fan shrugged his shoulders and said: “As for the name, you must have heard of the third name they used for me.”
Chen Fan paused a second as a smirk surfaced on his face. “They call me Master Chen.”
“Master Chen?”
Everyone was caught by surprise.
Finally, Zhou Qinya remembered something and then in her utter shock, she pointed a finger at Chen Fan and exclaimed: “So you are the Master Chen everyone had been talking about?”
Zhou Qinya’s exclamation was a wake-up call to everyone else. They looked at Chen Fan with disbelief and shock. The Sheng family’s downfall had occurred not long ago, so everyone remembered Master Chen who toppled the mighty family.
Finally, Che Fan’s friends started to connect the dots together.
“No wonder! It makes so much sense now!” Qiu Yilun clapped his hands excitedly. “You are the Master Chen of Jiang Bei, that explains your spellcasting abilities. You are a key member of the Chen family, and that was why Chen Xu was so afraid of you. You didn’t go home after Sheng Ronghua’s banquet you must have gone straight to Sheng Ronghua’s house. That also explains why you would buy that useless trinket for thirty million.”
“That’s not a trinket, that’s a Dharma Artifact.” Chen Fan corrected him.
The yellow-skinned gourd was a Dimension Altering Dharma Treasure. It was worth much more than thirty billion, much less thirty million.
“Fine, fine, It is a useless Dharma Artifact.” Qiu Yilun smiled mischievously.
Realization finally dawned upon Zhou Qinya.
If Chen Fan truly was Master Chen of Jiang Bei, that would explain why Seventh Lord Huang would be his chauffeur. The revelation unnerved her as she became increasingly afraid of Chen Fan.
She belonged to the elite class of Jin City, therefore, she had heard a lot about Master Chen’s power. Master Chen had not only dominated Jiang Bei, but even Tang Yuanqin had to obey his orders. The Sheng family was the only family who dared to offend him and the entire family was brutally murdered. Many members of the Sheng family died of inexplicable causes; their fates were very similar to that of Nie Shunchen. Then she thought about what happened to the Zheng family, the death of Old Man Zheng and the wrinkled face of Zheng Anqi. Suddenly, Zhou Qinya felt a chill down her spine.
The seemingly ordinary and harmless young man was a deadly murderer who had trampled over the Sheng family.
Then, Zhou Qinya felt a hint of excitement mixed in her fear. It was the excitement of meeting someone with great power. She adored powerful men and out of all the men she had met, who could be more powerful than Chen Fan?
“When I arrived home that day, my mom had a car accident.” Chen Fan said, and then he fell into silence.
Everyone looked at him sympathetically after knowing what he meant in between his words.
They lamented the viciousness of struggles between large families. Sheng family had brought their downfall on themself. If they didn’t piss off Chen Fan by attempting to kill his mother, they might still be alive.
Qi Wangsun stood quietly and listened to Chen Fan’s explanation. He knew Chen Fan had omitted many details. Chen Fan had been frank about his second identity as the Master Chen of Jinagn Bei, but never did he explain his connection with the third name, Chen Beixuan, and why the name had instilled so much fear into Nie Yuanhu. There ought to be secrets behind the Zheng’s Financial Group’s changing of hands.
Qi Wangsun also recalled that Zhou Qinya said Shen Junwen was courting Fang Qiong, Chen Fan’s girlfriend. He wagered that the love rival between Chen Fan and Shen Junwen might also have contributed to the fall of the Sheng family.
Nonetheless, Qi Wangsun had kept his thoughts to himself.
Qi Wangsun was moved by Chen Fan’s friendship despite the young man’s incredible power and social status. He had met with some of his father’s friends, and none of them could have lowered themselves to befriend ordinary people as Chen Fan had.
“Boss, from now on, you are a billionaire. A member of the Forbes Rich List. You are going to become the most popular guy in our school. Are you ready for all the flowers and attention?” Qiu Yilun asked. His words sounded bitter and jealous.
Although his family owned over a few hundred million assets, those belonged to his father and wouldn’t be his for another few decades. However, every penny of Chen Fan’s tremendous wealth belonged to himself.
Qiu Yilun then stood quietly and he was flanked by an equally reticent Yun Qianqian whose eyes were filled with admiration.
Chen Fan’s achievement was so great that it was terrifying in the eyes of his friends. What girl did not like a successful and powerful man?